Mahamadou Diarra
 |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Mahamadou Diarra |
| Date of birth |
18 May 1981 (age 29) |
| Place of birth |
Bamako, Mali |
| Height |
1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) |
| Playing position |
Defensive midfielder |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Monaco |
| Number |
6 |
| Youth career |
| 1997–1998 |
Centre Salif Keita |
| Senior career* |
| Years |
Team |
Apps† |
(Gls)† |
| 1998–1999 |
OFI |
21 |
(2) |
| 1999–2002 |
Vitesse |
65 |
(9) |
| 2002–2006 |
Lyon |
123 |
(6) |
| 2006–2011 |
Real Madrid |
90 |
(3) |
| 2011– |
Monaco |
5 |
(0) |
| National team‡ |
| 2001– |
Mali |
60 |
(5) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 December 2010.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02 July 2010 |
Mahamadou Diarra (born 18 May 1981 in Bamako) is a Malian footballer who plays as adefensive midfielder for AS Monaco and is captain of the Mali national team.
[edit]Biography
[edit]Early career
Diarra started his career with Greek side OFI Crete. He played for French club Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) from 2002 until 2006 and formed a successful midfield partnership with Michael Essien, winning four Ligue 1 titles during his time at the club.[1] He was known for his strength in the midfield.
[edit]Real Madrid
Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello asked President Ramón Calderón to sign three players, "Diarra, Diarra and Diarra".[2] Real Madrid joined in the race to sign Diarra, along withManchester United. Lyon said that Diarra will not leave and put a €40 million price tag, which matched the price Chelsea paid Lyon for Michael Essien in the summer 2005.[3] On 18 August 2006, Real Madrid agreed a fee of €26 million. On 22 August, he was unveiled at the Santiago Bernabeu by Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón, and was assigned the number 6 shirt, which had been worn by Iván Helguera in the previous season.
In 2006-07, Diarra was a staple player in Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello's 2-defensive midfielder system. He lost his first team spot at one point, when he and Antonio Cassano were caught on camera making fun of Capello during a training session. He played a pivotal role in the 2007-08 league success under new coach Bernd Schuster, and established himself as the first-choice defensive midfielder, causing teammate Fernando Gago to play higher up field.
In October 2008, while playing an international fixture against Chad, Diarra was stretchered off the field after receiving a blow to his knee. He was rested for a month and made his next appearance in late November, but was forced to undergo surgery after he aggravated his knee injury once more, ruling him out for the rest of the season. After enjoying two successful seasons, he was de-registered from Real Madrid's first team and his number 6 shirt was given to new signing Lassana Diarra. Lass took over as the starting defensive midfielder and Diarra began the 2009-10 season as his backup.
[edit]AS Monaco
Since Madrid had bought Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira, Diarra struggled to get into the first team squad under Jose Mourinho. General Manager Jorge Valdano said that Diarra was likely to leave the club.[4] Diarra had been linked with numerous European clubs, includingLiverpool, Fiorentina, Juventus, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Tottenham Hotspur, Málaga and Everton before he transferred to AS Monaco on the 27th of January 2011 for an undisclosed fee, he made his debut in a 0-0 draw against Olympique de Marseille.[5] [6] [7][8][9][10][11]
